KBB.com Consumer Reviews

Overall4.2Out of 5

Great Vehicle

By Tony | on Sunday, April 15, 2018

5.0

This is a great vehicle. I did lots of research before buying. I am very happy. The only thing I would change is take out the panel at the left of the shifter, to the right of the drivers knee. It serves no purpose other than to reduce the amount of leg room the driver has. Other that that, its the perfect vehicle.…

Great SUV for your

By Rich S | on Thursday, May 24, 2018

5.0

I bought my 17 Tucson as a CPO (certified pre owned) with 20K miles on it and im 100% satisfied after one month of driving. I previously owned a Saturn Vue and thought it was my favorite SUV. This, by far, beats the Vue. The only thing I miss not having is the moon/sun roof. So far no complaints.…

Smooth, Sporty, DCT Module Update done by Dealer

By 1.6T Premium | on Saturday, November 12, 2016

5.0

I bought this SUV (1.6T Premium/ Sport) brand new off the lot in Toronto and it has been nothing but a pleasure to drive.
Its first 1200km were highway miles and I followed the advice in the manual for breaking in the engine to a tee by constantly varying my speed between 2000-4000 rpm's the whole way. I also cycled through transmission modes (Eco, Normal & Sport) for short periods of time. A few times along the way at speed though when I stepped on the gas on a straightaway the Turbo kicked in all wound up and this thing ripped! It was pretty awesome and will put a smile on your face, Lol. However, the same thing cannot be said off the line which brings me to my next statement.
Once I got back into the city I did notice the odd DCT performance that some people have been complaining about in some reviews except I didn't even realize it was an issue. I just thought it was the nature of this new style of transmission and adapted to its character accordingly, i.e. instead of "stepping" on the gas after stopping at a stop sign or red light I rolled the ball of my foot on the gas pedal and gradually eased into speed to overcome what would otherwise be a momentary lag. If you tried to just step on the gas it would slowly veer ahead with not much pick up until it hit about 10 km/ hour. Thus I learned not to try and jump in front of oncoming traffic. Not gonna lie, I was pretty disappointed by this but then as I got to know the vehicle even more something else happened which was...
Every now and then from a dead stop by stepping on the gas (after attempting to ease into it) the vehicle would suddenly pop or lurch a few feet forward and then start moving and also on the highway I noticed if I punched the transmission into Eco mode from normal the rpm would decrease by about 1500. So I was mentally registering these things but was only thinking about how I could adapt to it.
Well, after learning more online about the vehicle and reading what others were saying in reviews I eventually came to learn of the DCT computer module update that Hyundai was releasing to dealers to fix lag issues and then boom it all of a sudden started to make sense. Turns out the vehicle sometimes wasn't fully gearing down into first gear and thus trying to start in second which caused these lags, lurches or delays. I might add it didn't happen often but enough that it was noticeable. Once the dealer performed the update, boom, problem solved! It just goes now but still is nothing to write home about off the line. You can still roll the ball of your foot onto the pedal and take off nicely, it just isn't as pronounced as a regular automatic. Once you start getting up to speed though the Turbo just kicks in and off you go.
After the awareness of the DCT lag went away the rest of the vehicle came into focus. The cabin is pretty quiet, it rides really smoothly on the 19's and cornering is tight with no noticeable sway such as I experienced profoundly in a Nissan Rogue! There's responsive 3 stage heating in the seats and the steering wheel heats up too. The electric driver's seat adjusts quickly (no memory setting) and I love the power lumbar. The shifter is in the right spot and with a bit of fine tuning (at 5'11") was able to adjust the seat such that I can easily rest my elbow on the centre console while driving. Sometimes I like to grab the shifter though when going around a corner and the g-force will cause it to come over to the left and enter manual mode. It would be nice if there was a little edge to prevent coming over such that you have to move the shifter up or down a little bit before it slides over.
The centre console is ok but just barely provides an adequate amount of space. I bought a divider off eBay meant for the Tucson because it's just an empty rectangular hole so there's no way to easily organize anything in there. The glove box can hold a fair bit but doesn't lock. I think it does on the 2017 now though.
There's a little cut out for your phone by the shifter but if you plug it in to charge the cord gets in the way and the phone doesn't sit in it properly. I bought a vent clip to get around this and prefer it over using the cut out since it's closer to reach from hands on the wheel. The front tray is nice and has enough room to throw some odds and ends onto it for easy reach as well.
The dual 12V outlets are great with an AUX and USB port in the middle. I use one 12v outlet to power two extra USB ports and the other to plug in a Garmnin GPS or what have you.
I have the 5" screen with Bluetooth and it sounds amazing with the right tunes. One thing I plan to do is add an under seat subwoofer to fill out the low end just a little bit more and I know it will sound great. Full voice recognition is available and the system has paired with every device I've thrown at it - ipad, blackberry, etc. - I run everything through my phone and didn't need the 8" NAV screen. Voice for Google/ Blackberry maps
comes over the speakers loud and clear but can't switch to the radio at the same time since those features are dependent on Bluetooth audio. Making calls is a breeze, just push a button on the steering wheel and announce who you want to call. You can also easily slip into private mode if you're allowed to handle a phone in a vehicle while driving where you live (probably not).
The seats also fit like a glove but one thing that doesn't impress all that much is the plastic on the dash and door panels. I mean it's okay but it would be nice if softer material was used. There's no shakes, rattles or creaking though so I'm good with it since I wanted to avoid leather seats, push button start and NAV and this trim was the highest I could go without those things. The cloth seats have YES essentials protection and a few spilled things have already wiped off very easily.
Save yourself some money and go with the regular Tucson rubber mats that you can get from the dealer for $100 bucks instead of the $400 premium ones. They're still great quality, custom fitting Tucson branded mats that just don't have that extra bit of lip that the premiums have or go over the transmission hump in the back.
Another thing I noticed is that the MPG is constantly improving with this vehicle, easily hitting 6.9L/100km instead of the stated 8.5 - 9.9. In the city alone I'm hitting over 300 miles per tank. On the Highway it's over 500 miles (Single Driver and a bit of cargo). By the way, the cargo area has enough space for a trip or something but you won't be moving your apt. in it, at least not in a trip or two. Think some luggage, camping gear and a mountain bike with the wheel taken off if you don't use a rack.
The factory tinted windows are a nice touch too and when this thing is clean it's a real head turner without coming off as pretentious. There's a sold cover underneath protecting the entire engine from road debris and another full length cover underneath the rocker on the driver's side which makes a huge difference. When I open the hood the engine is practically spotless, same with the compartment and is really easy to keep clean.
Overall, it's just a fun SUV to drive with plenty of zip, great gas mileage, handling and styling. My mom has a 2002 CRV and it's nothing but a brick in comparison though its cargo space is pretty much unmatched.
I have no problem recommending this vehicle and at least at the dealer I go to for service, I don't expect any problems obtaining warranty service should I ever require it based on interactions with the dept. manager so far.
Expenses incurred in Canada - $32 770 all in (13% HST included) for the 2016 1.6T Premium Sport with heated steering wheel/ mirrors, Dual zone Auto climate control, license plates and wheel locks.
Block heater $190 installed, Four factory Tucson all weather rubber mats were $119, a factory all weather cargo mat $69 and four factory mud flaps $60 bucks. Hope this helps!
p.s. oh yeah - sometimes I find with the seat adjustment I use that the A-Pillar on the passenger side sometimes blocks my field of view when looking in that direction but not very often, usually while browsing around at a red light or looking off to the right at some scenery down the highway, things like that…

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